WhenToBird

Spizella passerina · Passerellidae

When Do Chipping Sparrows Arrive in Pennsylvania?

Adult Chipping Sparrow
Photo: Shirley Zundell, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Chipping Sparrows reach Pennsylvania in late March, are common by early April, peak in late April (38% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byOct 8-14the second week of October

Best: late April. First arrivals late March; most are gone by the second week of October. Peak: on about 38% of Pennsylvania checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 0.5% of 47145 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 35840 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.5% of 35423 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.5% of 49126 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.5% of 36366 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.5% of 42248 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.5% of 55888 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.4% of 42050 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.4% of 42709 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.6% of 43985 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.1% of 44547 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.9% of 66940 checklistsApr 1-7: 16% of 51147 checklistsApr 8-14: 29% of 54868 checklistsApr 15-21: 38% of 57252 checklistsApr 22-30: 39% of 81727 checklistsMay 1-7: 37% of 76472 checklistsMay 8-14: 33% of 79341 checklistsMay 15-21: 32% of 61724 checklistsMay 22-31: 31% of 70722 checklistsJun 1-7: 31% of 45652 checklistsJun 8-14: 32% of 41810 checklistsJun 15-21: 32% of 38973 checklistsJun 22-30: 32% of 44255 checklistsJul 1-7: 33% of 34822 checklistsJul 8-14: 31% of 31104 checklistsJul 15-21: 28% of 29262 checklistsJul 22-31: 25% of 41436 checklistsAug 1-7: 21% of 29189 checklistsAug 8-14: 18% of 28840 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 29948 checklistsAug 22-31: 14% of 48235 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 37175 checklistsSep 8-14: 11% of 36527 checklistsSep 15-21: 10% of 37261 checklistsSep 22-30: 11% of 43583 checklistsOct 1-7: 14% of 35352 checklistsOct 8-14: 14% of 35560 checklistsOct 15-21: 15% of 33119 checklistsOct 22-31: 12% of 44654 checklistsNov 1-7: 7.0% of 32965 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.6% of 31305 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.7% of 29471 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 38642 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 28779 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.7% of 29486 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 37465 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% of 50651 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Pennsylvania that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Pennsylvania

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Fulton CountyBest the second week of July · 97 checklists that week, 7,004 in all66%
  2. Juniata CountyBest late April · 408 checklists that week, 9,807 in all60%
  3. Carbon CountyBest late April · 682 checklists that week, 16,269 in all59%
  4. Perry CountyBest late April · 342 checklists that week, 10,281 in all54%
  5. Luzerne CountyBest late April · 1468 checklists that week, 34,996 in all54%
  6. Beaver CountyBest late April · 453 checklists that week, 8,775 in all54%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Woodland LakeMonroe County, best late May · 25 checklists that week, 725 in all100%
  2. Monocacy CreekNorthampton County, best early May · 40 checklists that week, 739 in all97%
  3. Sygan HillAllegheny County, best the second week of April · 24 checklists that week, 1,154 in all96%
  4. Lake of the Four SeasonsLuzerne County, best early May · 57 checklists that week, 1,683 in all94%
  5. Caledonia State ParkFranklin County, best late April · 26 checklists that week, 1,114 in all94%
  6. Lower LakeMonroe County, best the second week of May · 28 checklists that week, 1,218 in all94%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Pennsylvania, the Chipping Sparrow is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (24% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1558) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1136) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (842) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2550) to judge5 am: too few checklists (18294) to judge6 am: 30% of 92903 checklists7 am: 22% of 241233 checklists8 am: 18% of 271994 checklists9 am: 16% of 236842 checklists10 am: 14% of 199508 checklists11 am: 13% of 161893 checklists12 pm: 13% of 143945 checklists1 pm: 11% of 134352 checklists2 pm: 11% of 129692 checklists3 pm: 11% of 126132 checklists4 pm: 12% of 115055 checklists5 pm: 16% of 90719 checklists6 pm: 19% of 67534 checklists7 pm: 21% of 43004 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (13966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3913) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1989) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1146) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0.5%0.5%0.5%0.5%
February0.5%0.5%0.5%0.4%
March0.4%0.6%1.1%4.9%
April16%29%38%39%
May37%33%32%31%
June31%32%32%32%
July33%31%28%25%
August21%18%16%14%
September12%11%10%11%
October14%14%15%12%
November7.0%2.6%1.7%1.2%
December0.8%0.7%0.7%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • Maryland: arrives the second week of March, 2 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia: arrives early March, 3 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • Delaware: arrives the second week of March, 2 weeks earlier than Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey: arrives mid March, 1 week earlier than Pennsylvania

Common questions

When do Chipping Sparrows arrive in Pennsylvania?
Chipping Sparrows reach Pennsylvania in late March, are common by early April, peak in late April (38% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of October.
When do Chipping Sparrows leave Pennsylvania?
Most Chipping Sparrows have left Pennsylvania by the second week of October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of November.
When is the best time to see a Chipping Sparrow in Pennsylvania?
The Chipping Sparrow is reported most often in late April, on about 38% of Pennsylvania checklists.
Where in Pennsylvania are Chipping Sparrows seen most often?
By county, Fulton County, Juniata County, and Carbon County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Chipping Sparrow (counties with at least 200 checklists).